Turtles have reached releasable
size and will be monitored with a satellite tracking device
to help researchers gain insight into their behavior and
movements

BOCA RATON, FL(October 2,
2008) — Two, 6-year-old
Loggerhead turtles, FeeBee
and Milton, have grown large enough to be released into the waters
of Florida at the end of this month. To celebrate their release
into the wild, a “Goodbye” party will take place on
Sunday, October 5, from 1-4 p.m. at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
located at 1801 North Ocean Boulevard, Boca Raton. The event, which
is open to the public, will include information about the rearing
and care of FeeBee and Milton and satellite tracking that is
planned when they are released. Visitors will also have the
opportunity to meet the scientists who played integral roles in
their lives.

Feebee and Milton were
hatched in July 2002 from two separate nests. FeeBee’s nest
was washed over by several storms and only 16 of the 94 eggs
hatched. FeeBee was the sole survivor of her nest. Milton, on the
other hand, was one of 102 eggs which hatched from his nest. Dr.
Jeannette Wyneken, associate professor of biological sciences, an
expert in conservation and marine biology, and two graduate and
six undergraduate students in the Charles E. Schmidt College of
Science at FAU worked with FeeBee and Milton for a national sea
turtle sex-ratio study she was conducting.

“The gender of a
sea turtle usually cannot be determined until they are 15-25
years-old,” said Wyneken. “As part of this study,
what we were able to develop was a way to identify their sex when
they were three-months-old and the information is helping us to
address the implications of skewed sex-ratios in sea
turtles.”

Knowing sex ratios and
how they change over time is critical for the recovery of
imperiled species. “Basically, we are identifying the
baselines again which future changes in sex-ratios can be
identified before they become so skewed that there are
problems” said Wyneken. “It is critical that there
are enough males and females to allow for successful
breeding.”

Since the day they
hatched, FeeBee and Milton have called Gumbo Limbo home, first at
the FAU marine lab. At three months of age, they moved just 50
feet away from the lab and have since spent quality time with Dr.
Kirt Rusenko, the marine conservationist at the Center.

“These turtles
have meant so much to us and to the community,” said
Rusenko. “We will be monitoring them closely for the next
year by using satellite tags to learn more about their behavior
and movements.” Rosenko has been working closely with Dr.
Katherine Mansfeld from the University of Miami who has extensive
experience with satellite tagged sea turtles.

For
more information about the “Goodbye” party for FeeBee
and Milton, call 561-338-1582 or visit
www.gumbolimbo.org.

- FAU -

FloridaAtlantic
University opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public
university in Florida. Today, the University serves more
than
26,000 undergraduate and graduate
students on seven campuses strategically located along 150 miles
of Florida's southeastern coastline. Building on its rich
tradition as a teaching university, with a world-class faculty,
FAU hosts ten colleges: College of Architecture, Urban
& Public Affairs, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts &
Letters, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science,
the Barry Kaye College of Business, the College of
Education, the College of Engineering & Computer
Science, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Graduate
College,
the Christine E.
Lynn College of Nursing and theCharles E. Schmidt College of
Science.